The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbines and, in particular, to monitoring performance and predicting the root causes of changes in the operation of turbines.
Electrical power generation typically includes the utilization of one or more turbines. These turbines, like any other mechanical device, may need inspection from time to time to ensure proper operation. One approach has been to have periodic inspections. In some cases, however, it may be determined that particular turbines (or portions thereof) may not need to be inspected as often as others even if they are of the same type. Thus, an inspection may not be necessary for one turbine while it may be for another.
High availability and reliability of power generation systems has been a major requisite of the electric utility industry for many years. The high cost of unreliability and forced outages is well known. Improper maintenance or operational anomaly detection may lead to turbine-forced outages. Early detection of such anomalies is important in preventing and reducing lengthy turbine forced outages.
A typical inspection may require that a turbine be shut down during the inspection. In such a case, at least a portion of a power generation plant's production capability may be hampered. Reducing the ability to generate power may have real economic costs associated with it. In addition, the inspection itself costs money. For at least these two reasons, it may be beneficial to perform inspections or maintenance only when and where needed.